Improvement
by YammyK
Summary: You know what they say about wars and battles. It's okay to lose one of them. [sequel to Potential - contains spoilers from the manga]


The infirmary room was lit by the orange color of the sunset. Small, bright beams of light passed through the window blinds, making the girl sitting on the bed glow almost ethereally.

Her hair was down and he didn't have the chance to see it very often. Todoroki didn't know if it was the sun inside the room or anything else, but he felt warm at the sight.

Her expression wasn't so heaven-like, though.

When Yaoyorozu Momo saw him enter the room and lean against the wall without saying a word, she felt the need to fill the silence.

He was there to see her and, a couple hours before, she wanted nothing else than to see him.

"Todoroki! I'm sorry I did not get to watch your fight." the fingers of her hand were fidgeting and she avoided making eye contact, but her lips curved into a smile that made her eyes look smaller. "But I'm sure you did a great job. How was it?"

Her tone was gentle, like always.

"It went well enough".

The silence had fallen into the room again, but not in an uncomfortable way. He had grown familiar to it, and even if she compensated daily for all the words he didn't want to say, the atmosphere between them was light enough not to need much more than that.

Todoroki wasn't the nosy type and would only say something when he felt like it needed to be said. Which is why he said it - because he knew she would keep it to herself.

"You fought well." time was slowly teaching him to express himself and he looked deep into her eyes. She knew he wouldn't lie, but he felt like he needed as much assurance as he could give.

It wasn't a big deal and Shouto didn't want to make it seem like it was, but she needed to know nevertheless.

Just in case.

He had voted for her because she was capable, but watching her doubt herself was something that crushed him a little bit. He was yet to be an expert at understand feelings, but there is something agonizing about knowing that she couldn't see herself the way he did.

"I guess? It kind of backfired, though." she motioned to her bed and the bandages covering her head.

I'm sure you did a great job, she had said about his fight. Todoroki knew she'd like to give him more credit than he probably needed and it was frustrating to know that Momo didn't see all that potential in herself.

"It was a good plan. You know what they say about battles and wars." some cloud had passed through the sky and hid the bright beams of light. Great timing, he thought, 'cause her expression darkened.

"You always say these things so... matter-of-factly." she sighed and Todoroki couldn't read her expression.

"It is a fact. Your confidence grew on you and that's why you managed to get to this point."

"I think I can thank you for that." her catlike eyes looked gently at his.

"I gave you the push, but the credit is all yours."

She sighed once again, defeated. This time there was a different light on her face. The gears in her brain were probably working, as he could they would, eventually.

"Yeah... I guess you're right. But there is always room for improvement…"

Then Yaoyorozu began to mutter, not much different from Midoriya, about different kinds of things she would like to learn to create as quickly as possible and all the illustrated encyclopedias she needed to read, and as lovely as that was, with the beams of light shining on her face once more, almost as if the confidence being recovered had caused that, Shouto felt the urge to interrupt.

"Yaoyorozu."

"Yes?"

"You created a cannon."

At those words, the girl laughed and her face opened. Momo leaned back on the fluffy pillow and looked at the ceiling of the room with an indecipherable expression even to him.

"I did, huh? Wow."

He felt that she was talking to herself, and as much as he, as always, felt glad to be able to help and to see that dreamy expression on her face, Shouto imagined that he had done his part and left the room.

Never mind his own fight. That was the war that was worth winning.


End file.
